Basketball - Breakers v 36ers result: Zylan Cheatham injured as New Zealand Breakers lose to Adelaide 36ers

The NZ Breakers lost to the Adelaide 36ers in Auckland. Photo / Photosport

In their first game back at home in three weeks, the New Zealand Breakers have fallen to their third loss of the season and now face a nervous wait on an injury concern for one of their stars. Christopher Reive reports.

The New Zealand Breakers’ return to Spark Arena was supposed to see a welcome return to the team’s regular schedule.

Instead, they left with a result that got away and an injury cloud hanging over one of their stars.

A fourth-quarter capitulation saw the Breakers beaten 97-85 by the Adelaide 36ers, with Zylan Cheatham having to be helped back to the locker room after suffering a suspected leg injury in a collision on court.

The absence of Cheatham down the stretch was noticeable. He had been a reliable option to get the ball to when the side needed a basket throughout the contest. Breakers coach Mody Maor said after the game they did not only the extent of the injury and could just “pray for good news.”

“Zylan’s a focal point for us in everything that we do,” he said.

“He’s also one of our leaders, one of our best competitors, and seeing him go down like this deflated us. New team, new people, new leaders, these are the kinds of things you need to learn to deal with.

“We didn’t handle that today. I hope we handle it better next time.”

While the Breakers were struggling to adjust to Cheatham’s exit, Adelaide’s recently recruited sharpshooter Dejan Vasiljevic returned to haunt his old foe down the stretch. Vasiljevic has often scored well against the Breakers, and was a key cog in the championship-winning Sydney Kings squad last year, and Thursday night in Auckland was no different. Vasiljevic scored 24 points in the game; 11 of those in the fourth quarter.

It was a nervous watch throughout the contest for the hometown faithful. The Breakers shot the ball well, with good contributions on the scoreboard from a handful of players and Will McDowell-White, who struggled with his own shot all night, generally finding the right passes with 11 assists and just two turnovers.

But the Breakers couldn’t find a way to pull away from the 36ers, who have made a stuttering start to the season with a 2-5 record.

Adelaide’s former NBA centre Isaac Humphries played a major role in the visitors being able to stay in the game. When the Breakers opted to play a small lineup with forward Cheatham guarding at centre, Humphries went to work drawing fouls, putting puts on the board and setting up teammates when the double team came.

Breakers backup centre Dane Pineau did a good job to limit Humphries in the second half, but at that stage the Adelaide three-point shooters had begun to find the mark with frequency.

The hosts opened up the game shooting the ball well. Led by 10 early points from Cheatham and eight from Anthony Lamb off the bench in his home debut, the Breakers held a slim two-point lead at the end of the opening stanza.

Back-to-back Finn Delany baskets early in the second period saw the Breakers open up an eight-point lead, but while Adelaide looked out of sorts at times, they were able to hang in the contest through free throws.

The Breakers were still able to extend their first-quarter lead with a four-point advantage at halftime, but that was trimmed to just one point with the final quarter to play.

In the end, it came down to the final 10 minutes – and it was a terrible time for the Breakers to go cold.

While Adelaide enjoyed plenty of success wherever they attacked, the Breakers struggled to hang with them.

Ultimately, they weren’t able to and saw the record fall to 1-3, with a trip to face the South East Melbourne Phoenix on Saturday night.

NZ Breakers 85 (Anthony Lamb 25 points, Zylan Cheatham and Finn Delany 17 each, Parker Jackson-Cartwright 16)

Adelaide 36ers 97 (Dejan Vasiljevic 24 points, Isaac Humphries 17, Jacob Wiley 12)

1Q: 26-24. HT: 48-44. 3Q: 71-70

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.